Method and apparatus for packaging loose, flowing commodities



METHOD AND AI PAkATUS FOR PACKAGING LO0SE,' FLOWING COMMODITIES Filed Dec. 31, 1946 a Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept. 19, 1950 H P LEWIS 2,522,682

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METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING LOOSE, FLOWING commonrrms Filed Dec. 31. 1946 s Sheets-Sheet 2 I ATTORNEYS P 19, 1950 H. P. LEWIS 2,522,582

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING LOOSE, FLOWING COMMODITIES Filed Dec. 31. 1946 e Sheets-Sheet s INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Sept. 19, 1950 H. P. LEWIS 2,522,632

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING LOOSE, FLOWING COMMODITIES Filed Dec. 31, 1946 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 4a 48 47 I 47.6 4% W h 69470 6' I r- 9 a 'fl' 68 9 49 l 49 490: 1 99 l- I 99" l II I l 4-0-3 9 A 64 28 7 l '27 I a 5: f as l.

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Sept. 19, 1950 Filed Dec.

H. P. LEWIS METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING LOOSE, FLOWING COMMODITIES 6 She ets-Sheet 5 fgd Sept. 19, 1950 H. P. LEWIS 2,522,682

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING LOOSE, FLOWING COMMODITIES Filed Dec. 31. 1946 6 Sheets-SheetG ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 19, 1950 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING LOOSE, FLOWING COMMODITIES Harold P. Lewis, Newtown, Pa., assignor to Wm.

S. Scull Company, Camden, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application December 31, 1946, Serial No. 719,561

11 Claims. (Cl. 93-3) My invention relates to the packaging of a loose, flowing commodity such as tea, coffee, powder and the like, and is generally directed to the provision of a method and apparatus for rapidly packaging such commodities in paper, cellophane or like flexible material which is adapted to be sealed by the application of heat.

It will be understood that the method and apparatus are also applicable to the packaging of nuts, small pellets and other commodities of such nature but it is particularly useful in processes where the commodity to be packaged is either in .theform of a fine powder or contains minute particles which tend to float in the air and will not fall rapidly. I

There are several known methods and apparatus for packaging such commodities, but for the most part they are of the intermittent feeding type, i. e., the commodity to be packaged is measured into individual charges which fall. into a tube of the packaging material above a transverse seal, the packaging material being moved intermittently to receive a new charge above each transverse seal. This intermittent motion neces-, sarily limits the speed at which packages of the commodity can be formed.

There are also machines for packaging semisolid commodities such as ice cream, in which there is a continuous feed of the commodity to be packaged and a continuous feed of the packaging material, but I know of no successful application of the continuous process to the packaging of loose, flowing commodities which consist of or contain minute particles which will tend to float in the air or will not fall at a normal rate at which large solid particles will fall.

7 Tea for packaging in individual tea bags, for example, will vary in size from minute dust-like particles to large grains or bits of tea leaf. When released from a hopper into a feeder tube the tea will fall by gravity in a steady stream and the larger particles Will, for the mostpart, carry the fine particles along, but if the flow is stopped at the upper end of the tube, for example, many of the smaller bits of tea leaf and minute particles will not fall as rapidly as the largerones. Therefore, when the charge of tea is measured into a tube any substantial distance above the bottom thereof, the particles will fall at various speeds when the charge is released and in packaging the charges at the lower end of the tube it is necessary to hold the package for a brief interval in order to allow the complete chargeto fall into the package and to insure, insofar as possible, that there will be' no small bits floating in A the air at the .point where the transverse seal is made in the tube of packaging material.

I have discovered, however, that it is possible to operate a packaging machine with a continuous gravity feed of tea, for example, and continuous feed of the packaging material, if the flow of tea is interrupted substantially within the package which will contain it.. It is necessary, of course, to interrupt the flow of tea for a brief interval of time to permit the transverse sealing of the tube of packaging material below the end of the tube through which the tea is fed, but I have discovered that if the flow is interrupted at a point immediately above the point at which the transverse seal is formed and substantially within the package which will contain the tea, that the interval of time between the interruption of the flow of tea and the formation of the transverse seal is so small that there will be no time or space for the small particles to straggle behind the larger and interfere with the formation of the transverse seal. In other words, it can be said that the tea is measured in the package which will contain it rather than being measured in individual charges above the package and allowed to fall into it.

For the sake of convenience, I refer throughout the specification to the packaging of tea and, at the present time, my invention will probably find its widest application in packaging that commodity because of the popularity of the so-called tea bag. It will be understood, however, that the apparatus is applicable to the packaging of many other commodities and particularly to those in which there is a gravity feed of a commodity containing particles which tend to fioa in the air.

It will also be understood that there can be many variations of the gravity feed. In my present application the feed from the hopper through the tube through which the tea is fed to the package is what might be termed an all gravity feed. It would be quite possible, however, to feed the tea through the tube by a screw device, for example, in which case the fall of the tea by gravity from the end of the tube into the package would be very small as compared with the fall through the tube from the hopper.

Certain features of the appartus will also have application to the packaging of commodities where the feed is other than gravity.

It is the primary object of my invention to provide a method and apparatus as above described for packaging commodities such as tea and the like in which there is a continuous flow of the 3 commodity and continuous feed of the packaging material, as distinguished from the processes in which the commodity is measured in individual charges and the packaging material fed intermittently.

A further object of my invention is to provide a method and apparatus for packaging tea and the like in which the tea is measuredfrom a continuous flow substantially within the package which will contain it.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved gate mechanism for'interrupting the flow of tea to permit the formation of a transverse seal in the tube of packaging material.

It is a further object of my invention to provide with the transverse sealing of the tube of pack' aging material.

Another object of my invention is to provide an apparatus, having a hollow feeder mandrel along which the packaging material isfed, in which ready access can be had to the mandrel for threading and adjusting the packaging material.

It is a further object of my invention to provide improved means for feeding tea from a hopper so that the tea will fall by gravity into a hollow feeder mandrel in a steady, continuous, uniform flow.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved means for insuring proper tracking of the packaging material through the apparatus.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved arrangement for segregating into groups one. conveyor a predetermined number of packages after they have been formed.

I accompli h the foregoing together with such other objects as may hereinafter appear or are incident to my invention by means of the apparatus shown the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure l is a more or less diagrammatic sectional elevational View of a machine constructed in accordance with my invention, the portion in section being taken substantially on the line l--l of Figure 2; v

Figure la is a fragmentary plan View looking down on the conveyor.

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary and elevational view of the machine looking toward the left as viewed in Figure l;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary view showing certain of the parts of Figure 2 further enlarged and showing certain of the gearing in cross-section and taken substantially on the line 33 of Figure 4;

Figure 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional View taken substantially on the line 4-4 of Figure 2 with certain of the gearing which is located in front of the plane of the section being shown in dot and dash lines;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary enlarged cross-sectional view of the hopper mechanism I employ, taken substantially on the line 5-5 of Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a detailed cross-section of a hearing arrangement I employ, taken substantially on the line 6-4: of Figure 3;

Figure 7 is a fragmentary cross-section of a delivery chute I employ taken on the line 'I-l of Figure 8;

Figure 8 is a plan view of Figure 7;

Figure 9 is a detailed plan section taken on the line 9ii of Figure 4 Figure 10 is a vertical cross-section through a control gate I employ, showing the gate in open position;

Figure 11 is a view similar to Figure 10 but showing the gate in closed position; a

Figure 12 is a vertical section taken on the line [2-12 of Figure 10;

Figure 13 is a plan section taken on the line I3-l3 of Figure 10;

Figure 14 is a plan section taken on the line l4--l4 of Figure 11; and

Figure 15 is a diagrammatic cross-section of a knife arrangement I employ.

Referring to Figures 1, 2 and 5, reference numeral [6 indicates the hopper. Tea is led into the hopper it through the pipe I i. In the hopper I6 is located a shaft 68 driven from pulley l9.

"Pins on the shaft l8 serve to agitate the tea to facilitate fiow. In addition to pins 20 in the body portion of the hopper, there are pins 2| mounted on the reduced portion 22 of the shaft H! which extends downwardly through the restricted cylindrical outlet 23 of the hopper. Mounted onv the lower .end of the reduced portion 22 of the shaft is a plate 24 onto which the tea falls by gravity from the hopper. The tea is thrown from the plate 24 by centrifugalforce into the funnel or cone 25 in a steady, continuous stream and from the lower end of the cone 25 the tea enters the tube or hollow mandrel 2t and flows downwardly to the control gate 2! shown in detail in Figures 10 to 14 inclusive.

Gate 2! is pivoted at 28 to swing back and forth across the mandrel intermittently cutting off the flow of tea. The gate is operated by means of the rod 29 extending down through the mandrel 26 and this rod is given reciprocatory movement by means of cam 30 carried by the shaft 3|, cam roller 32, cam rod 33, and rock lever 34 pivoted at 35 and connected at one end to the rod 33 and at its other end to the upper end of gate operating rod 29.

In connection with the feed of tea from the hopper IE to the plate 24, it is tobe noted that the shaft l8 carries a collar 35 at its upper portion which is engaged by a yoke 36. This yoke is connected to one end of a lever 31 pivoted at 38 and at the other end the lever is connected to adjusting rod 39 which is adjusted by turning the knurled knob 40 to move lever 3'! up or down to imparta like motion to the shaft l8. The purpose of this adjustment is to move plate 24 toward and away from the outlet 23 of the hopper 16. As the plate 24 is moved toward the outlet 23, the opening becomes restricted, thus restricting the flow of tea and as the plate 24 is moved away from the outlet the opening becomes wider thus allowing a greater flow of tea. In this way the amount of tea thrown from the plate 24 by centrifugal motion can be accurately regulated.

It is also to be noted that pulley I9 is driven from pulley 4! which is connected tothe shaft 42 by means of gearing 43. In order to provide interruption of the drive when desired, the shaft 42 is connected to drive shaft 44 by a jaw clutch 45. This clutch provides a convenient means of stopping the tea supply in case trouble should develop anywhere further alongthe line.

The packaging material may be paper, cellophane or like flexible material which can be sealed by the application of heat and pressure. The particular packaging material used will depend on the commodiy to be packaged. Tea, for example, is generally packaged in special water permeable paper which is either surface-coated with a thermo responsive adhesive or may have such adhesive incorporated in the paper itself. There are several known papers of this kind on the market. the case of nuts, small candy pellets, etc., a transparent waterproof material is generally used.

The packaging material (hereinafter referred toas paper) is fed to the machine from rolls 46 (see Figure 1) over idler rollers 41 located on either side of the feeder tube or mandrel 26 at its upper portion. The rollers 41 are mounted on arms 47a carried by rods 47b and the arms 47a may be looked as by means of set screws 470, into such position of adjustment that the rollers will have proper contact with the paper being fed into the machine. The paper is fed parallel to the tube as indicated at 46a in Figure 4 and the edges are brought together by means of. brushes 48 in order to form the paper around the mandrel as indicated at b in Figure 9 before it is fed into the rolls 49. These rolls 49 constitute the sole means for drawing the paper from the rolls of paper and feeding it to other parts of the mechanism. The rolls 49 have a contour to fit around the mandrel leaving flanges 50 at either side which L engage the paper. The rolls are electrically heated and when the paper is pressed between the flanges there is formed a heat seal to seal the opposed longitudinal edges 5| of the strips of paper above the lower end of the mandrel 2'6;

Below the end of mandrel 26 are provided the heat sealing rolls 52 having engaging portions 53 which come together below the mandrel to engage the paper and form a transverse heat seal immediately below the tea bag being filled from the mandrel and above the tea bag just ahead of it. These rolls are likewise electrically heated and are mounted on tubular shaft 54 carried by bearings 55. The engagement of these two rolls 52 is regulated by means of set screw 56 which is secured in the bearing block of the bearing (see Figures 3 and 6). The set screw extends through the plate 57 mounted on the frame of the machine and on one side is held in fixed position by means of two lock nuts 58. A spring. 59 is located between the plate 51 and the bearing block of a bearing 55 and urges the two shafts 54 toward each other. The bearing blocks, however, cannot move beyond the desired point of adjustment as they are held from such movement by set screw 56. However, in case a tea ball should happen to be fed between the engaging surfaces 53 of the rolls, it is desirable that the shafts should move away from each other in order to prevent damage to the machine and this is permitted by reason of the spring 59 which allows the bearing blocks to move outwardly, i. e., to permit the bearing surfaces to move apart.

It is to be noted that the flat surfaces 60 of rolls 52 do not come into contact and thus provide space for the filled tea bags to pass between the portions of the rolls which are not formin the transverse seal, as seen in Figure 15.

After the seal has been made, the formed tea bags A are fed downwardly between knives El and 62. Knife 62 is stationary and knife M is rotated in a clockwise direction, as indicated by the dot and dash line Bla in Figure 4, and is so synchronized with the other parts of the machine that the transverse seal is cut centrally, thus severing the tea bags from the strip of paper with one-half the transverse seal on the lower bag and one-half the transverse seal on the bag above it. From the knives the tea bags A are dropped to an inclined chute 63 from which they are fed to a conveyor belt I99 (see Figure 1).

- Reverting now to the paper feed mechanism, it will be seen that the rods 41b carrying the arms 41a, and the shafts 49a of the rolls 49, are carried by frame members 94 which are pivoted at their lower ends on shafts 56. This is to permit the frame members to be swung outwardly, thus carrying rollers 4? and rolls 39 away from the mandrel 29 to permit threading of the paper through the machine and to give access in general' to the parts involved. The frame members 94 are interlocked by means of gears 65 shown in Figures 2 and 3, so that when the handle 86 fixed to one of the gears 65 is moved downward both frame members will pivot on shafts 54 to move apart as above described. It is to be noted that the rolls 52 will not be moved apart.

' In this connection it is pointed out that the gears 65 are secured to the frame members 64, as by means of screws 5'5 (see Figure 3) and that these gears and the frame members are mounted on the shafts 54 for free rotation so that the frame members may be swung toward and away from each other without causing back drive of the main drive gearing of the machine to be hereinfater described.

The position of the frames 94 is regulated by means of set screws 68 carried at the upper portion ofthe frame (see Figure 4). These screws engage a fixed block 69 and are adjustable to permit the frames to come toward each other in the proper operating position. A spring H3 yieldingly holds the frames in operating position and will permit the frames to move apart in case of jamming of the paper feed. Y

The heating of the rolls above mentioned is accomplished in the following manner, it being pointed out that since all of the rolls are heated in the same manner the circuit for only one of the rolls will be described. Current is supplied to brush "H which is in contact with ring 12 carried on an insulating block 13. The insulating block 13 ismounted on shaft 49a and rotates therewith. From ring 12 a connection 74 leads to one side of a thermostat 15 which is mounted in the hollow shaft 49a adjacent the roll 49 so that it willbe affected by the heat of the roll. The shaft 4% is tubular in order to permit insertion of the thermostat at the most efiicient location adjacent the roll. From the other side of the thermostat a connection It leads: to ring ll. From the ring ll a connection it leads to oneside of a heater l9 and from the other side of the heater 79 a connection 39 leads to a ring 8!. The. ring M is connected to a ring it?! by jumper 83. This ring 82 is in turn connected to brush 89 which is connected to the other side of the line. The circuit is thus from the brush ll through the'thermostat, thence through the heater-and back to brush 84. It was found desirable to have a fourth ring because of space limitations and the number 01' connections involved.

The mounting and the drive of th apparatus is as follows.

The apparatus is carried by frame 85 (see Figure 1) on which the motor 86 is also mounted. The drive from the motor is as follows. The motor drives the shaft 44 which in turn drives the worm 81 from which the worm. wheel 88 is driven. This worm wheel is mounted on shaft 89. Gear 99 is; alsomounted on this shaft and meshes with gear 9| which is mounted on the shaft 92 carryingtheknife 6L. :Shaft 92 also carries a gear member 93 meshingwith an idler.

gear 94 which drives a gear 95 secured on the shaft 54 on which the roll 52 is mounted. Gear 95 in turn drives gear 95 which revolves on the stud shaft 3| and supplies the power to cam 30 to which the gear 96 is keyed. Also mounted on shaft 54 is a gear 91 which drives an idler gear 98 in turn meshing with a gear 99 fixed to the shaft 49a carrying the longitudinal sealing roll 49. The gears 98 and 99 are mounted on one of the frames 04 and are moved away from the mandrel 26 when the frames are swung outwardly as above described. It will be seen from Figure 4 that similar meshing gears 91, 98 and 99 are provided for both the right and left hand rolls shown, the gear 91 at the right in Figure 4 being driven by gear 91 at the left.

As mentioned above, the tea bags A are delivered from the knives, and fall onto the chute 63 and from thence are delivered to conveyor belt I as shown in Figures 1 and 1a. In delivering the tea bags to the belt I00, the chute is swung back and forth so as to deliver a group of tea bags first to one side of the belt and then to the other side. In practice, it is usual to deliver the tea bags in groups of ten although this number can be varied.

It is to be noted that the conveyor belt moves somewhat more slowly than the speed at which the tea bags are delivered from the chute 63. This is to permit the tea bags to slightly overlie one another or shingle on the conveyor as they are delivered from the chute (see Figures 1 and 1a,). This shingling of the tea bags makes it easier for the operator to lift them from the conveyor in groups.

. Referring more particularly to Figures 1, 2, 7 and 8, the chute 53 is swung back and forth in the following manner. The upper end of the chute is secured to the top of a shaft IOI which is carried by a bearing plate I02. A lever I03 is secured to shaft WI and is swung back and forth with the shaft as a pivot by means of a roller I04 which is actuated by a sliding bar I05. A slot I06 is cut in the sliding bar I for receiving the roller I04, and the sliding bar is moved back and forth by solenoids I01, I01. The operation of the solenoids is timed by means of cam member I08 which operates lever I09 connected to a doubleacting switch I I0 which first operates one solenoid and then the other. The cam member is usually designed to throw the switch to move the chute 63 at every tenth tea bag so that the tea bags will be delivered to the conveyor belt I00 in increments of ten. The cam member can be changed if desired to give any number of tea bags in a group. The cam I08 and the conveyor drum III are driven from the shaft 92 by means of bevel gears II2, II3. Bevel gear II3 is mounted on shaft I I4 which in turn drives worm I I5 meshing with a worm wheel II6 mounted on shaft I I1 carrying the cam I08 and drum I I I.

Reverting now to the control gate illustrated in Figures 10 to 14 inclusive, it is pointed out that the edge portion of the mandrel 26 opposite the gate is provided with a lip II8 so positioned that the lower end II9 of the gate will pass beneath it when the gate is closed, as shown in Figure 10. This lip II8 will divert the falling tea away from the side of the mandrel opposite the gate as illustrated in Figure 10, and I have found that when the stream of tea is so diverted the lower edge of the gate toward the end of the closing movement will not be passing through the stream of tea. This will prevent any large pieces of tea from being'jammed'against the side. of the tube end of the mandrel and, in fact, constitutes an extension of one side of the mandrel. It is also to be noted that the point at which the flow of tea is cut off is immediately above the place at whichthe transverse seal of the tube of packaging material is formed so that the flow of tea is interrupted substantially within the walls of the package which will contain the particular charge of tea. The gate forms an acute angle with the opposite wall of the mandrel. In other words, the gate does not swing through an arc of but in effect only moves across the mandrel opening.

The feed of the tea through the mandrel is so regulatedby adjustment of the centrifugal plate 20 that a complete charge will not gather on the gate when it is shut. It i necessary to interrupt the flow of tea only long enough to permit formation of the transverse seal and during this period a small amount of tea will collect on the gate. The flow of tea above the gate, however, is not interrupted. Therefore, when the gate is opened the tea falling through the mandrel will carry along into the tube of packaging material any tea which has collected on the gate. Since the tea is deposited substantially within the package which will contain it and, since the period of interruption of the flow is so brief, there is no space or time for any small particles to float about in the air and interfere with the formation of the transverse seal. 'In other words, there is no opportunity for the lighter particles to straggle or lag behind the larger as is the case when the flow of tea is cut off above the bottom of the feeder mandrel and allowed to drop through the mandrel into the package.

Referring to Figure 4, it will be observed that the transverse sealing rolls 52 are in such position that the engaging portions 53 of the two rolls have not quite completed the formation of the transverse seal. The gate 21 is in open position to permit the flow of tea even though the transverse seal has not been completely formed. However, during the interval of time required for the tea to fall from the gate downwardly, the seal will be completed. To put it in another way, there is a small time increment when the transverse seal has not been completely formed and the gate is opened. However, th falling teawill not reach the transverse seal during this period andby the time the tea has fallen sufilciently to reach the transverse seal it will have been completely formed.

It is to be noted that the bags of tea are not filled completely. Somewhat on the order of onethird the amount of tea the bag will hold is considered a package charge, the purpose being to allow room for the expansion of the tea when it is wet. Therefore, in regulating the speed of the centrifugal plate 24, which governs the amount of tea falling through the tube, the speed is so adjusted that sufficient tea to charge a package is thrown from the plate during the interval of time that the amount of packaging material needed to form a package passes the end of the mandrel.

Mechanism for mounting the rolls of paper 46 and for providing adjustment thereof to insure proper tracking thereof is illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. This requires two adjustments of the rolls of paper; first, an adjustment to move the rolls longitudinally of the shafts on which they are mounted; and second, to tilt the shaft carrying the rolls.

Since the mechanism for adjusting both rolls of paper is the same, it will be described only in connection with one of the rolls. The longitudinal adjustment of the roll on the shaft is effected as follows. The shaft I28 is provided with flanges I2I and I22 for carrying the roll of paper and the flange I22 is provided with an annular groove I23 into which a roller 424 fits. This roller is carried on the end of the stem I25 which is screw-threaded in block I26 and adjusted by means of a knurled knob I21 to move the roller I24 back and forth axially of shaft I 26. This movement will impart a like movement to the roll of paper to secure axial adjustment thereof with respect to the shaft I 20.

The tilting of the roll of paper is effected as follows. The block I25 is mounted on a shaft I28 which is rotatable in bearings I29 supported from the frame of the machin.-.

Since the shaft I20 is mounted in bearing block I28 and, since the bearing block I26 is carried by the shaft I28, it will be seen that, upon rotation of shaft I 28, the bearing block will turn with it thus giving an arc-uate or tilting motion to th shaft I20 in a plane transverse the plane of the roll of paper. This motion is imparted to shaft I28 by means of the knurled knob I30 of a screw-threaded adjusting rod I3I. Turning of the rod I3I will move the grooved block I32, into which the lower end of lever I33 fits, back and forth thus imparting a tilting movement to the block I26 which, as above described, carries the shaft I20 on which the roll of paper is mounted.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for forming packages of a loose, flowing commodity comprising a substantially vertical hollow feeder mandrel, means to supply a continuous, uniform flow of the commodity to the upper end of said mandrel, means to continuously advance a flexible tube of packaging material downwardly about said mandrel, a gate at the lower end of said mandrel to interrupt the flow of said commodity, transverse sealing means immediately below said gate adapted to form a transverse seal in said tube and means to sever said tube transversely in the area of the said transverse seal, the rate of feed of the commodity to the mandrel being such that less than a package charge will collect on the gate during the interval of time the gate is closed.

2. Apparatus for forming packages of a loose, flowing commodity comprising a substantially vertical hollow feeder mandrel, means to supply a continuous, uniform flow of the commodity to the upper end of said mandrel, means to continuously advance a flexible tube of packaging material downwardly about said mandrel, a gate at the lower end of said mandrel to interrupt the flow of said commodity, transverse sealing means immediately below said gate adapted to form a transverse seal in said tube and means to sever said tube transversely in the area of the said transverse seal, the rate of feed of the commodity to the mandrel being such that less than a package charge will collect on the gate during the interval of time the gate is closed, the balance of the package charge being supplied during the period in which the gate is open.

3. The method of forming packages of a loose, flowing commodity which comprises forming a tube about a substantially vertical hollow mandrel, continuously moving said tube downwardly about the mandrel, supplying a continuous flow of the commodity to the upper end of the mandrel at such rate that a package charge is fed to the mandrel during the time that packaging material for one package is passing the end of the mandrel, forming a transverse seal in said tube immediately below the end of the mandrel while the tube is moving downwardly, interrupting the flow of the commodity at the lower end of said mandrel While the transverse seal is being formed and severing the tube transversely in the area of said transverse seal.

4. The method of forming packages of a loose, flowing commodity which comprises forming a tube about a substantially vertical hollow mandrel, continuously moving said tube downwardly about the mandrel, supplying a continuous flow of the commodity to the upper end of the mandrel at such rate that a package charge is fed to the mandrel during the time that the packaging material for one package is passing the end of the mandrel, forming a transverse seal in said tube immediately below the lower end of said mandrel while said tube is moving downwardly, interrupting the flow of the material to be packaged at the lower end of said mandrel while the said transverse seal is being formed and severing a tube transversely in the area of the transverse seal, the time the flow is interrupted being such that substantially less than a package charge will collect in the lower end of said mandrel.

5. The method of forming packages of a loose, flowing commodity which comprises forming a tube about a substantially vertical hollow mandrel, continuously moving said tube downwardly about the mandrel, supplying a continuous flow of the commodity to the upper end of the mandrel at such rate that a package charge is fed to the mandrel during the time that the packaging material for one package is passing the end of the mandrel, forming a, transverse seal in said tube immediately below the lower end of said mandrel while said tube is moving downwardly, interrupting the flow of the commodity at the lower end of said mandrel while the said transverse seal is being formed and severing the tube transversely in the area of the transverse seal, the time the flow is interrupted being such that substantially less than a package charge will collect in the lower end of said mandrel the balance of the package charge being supplied during the period in which the flow of material is not interrupted.

6. Apparatus for forming packages of a loose, flowing commodity, comprising a hollow feeder mandrel, means for supplying a continuous, uniform flow of the commodity to the upper end of said mandrel, means for continuously advancing opposed strips of flexible packaging material along opposite sides of the mandrel and sealing the edges of the one strip to the opposed edges of the other to form a tube, rotary sealing means immediately below the end of said mandrel adapted to seal said strips together transversely at intervals, a gate at the lower end of said mandrel to interrupt the flow of said commodity, means to close the gate while the transverse seal is being formed, and means to sever the packaging material transversely thereof in the area of the transverse seal.

7. Apparatus for forming packages of a loose, flowing commodity comprising a hollow feeder mandrel, means for supplying a continuousuniform flow of the commodity to the upper end of said mandrel, means for continuously advancing opposed strips of flexible packaging material along opposite sides of the mandrel and sealing the edges of the one strip to the opposed edges of the other, rotary sealing means immediately below the end of said mandrel adapted to seal said strips together transversely at intervals, a gate at the lower end of said mandrel to interrupt the flow of said commodity, means to close the gate while the transverse seal is being formed, and means to sever the packaging material transversely thereof in the area of the transverse seal, the said commodity being supplied to the upper end of the mandrel substantially at such rate that a package charge is fed to the mandrel during the time that material to form one package is passing the end of the mandrel.

8. In apparatus for forming packages of a loose, flowing commodity, a substantially vertical hollow feeder mandrel, means to supply a continuous, uniform flow of material to be packaged to the upper end of said mandrel, means to ad- Vance a flexible tube of packaging material downwardly about said mandrel, and a gate at the lower end of the mandrel, said gate constituting a portion of the wall of the mandrel and being hinged to swing into engagement with an opposite wall portion of the mandrel to interrupt the flow of material.

9. In apparatus for forming packages of a loose, flowing commodity, a substantially vertical hollow feeder mandrel, means to supply a continuous, uniform flow of the commodity to the upper end of said mandrel, means to advance a flexible tube of packaging material downwardly about said mandrel and a gate at the lower end of the mandrel, said gate constituting a portion of the wall of the mandrel and being hinged to swing into engagement with an opposite wall portion of the mandrel, said opposite wall portion, having an inwardly projecting lip adapted to deflect the flowing commodity away from the wall of the mandrel below the lip.

10. In apparatus for forming packages of a loose, flowing commodity, a substantially vertical hollow feeder mandrel, means to supply a continuous, uniform flow'of the commodity to the upper end of said mandrel, means to advance a flexible tube of packaging material downwardly about said mandrel, and a gate. at the lower end of the mandrel, said gate constituting a portion of the wall of the mandrel and being hinged to swing into engagement with an opposite wall portion of the mandrel, said opposite wall portion having an inwardly projecting lip extending into the path of flow of the commodity above the lower end of the mandrel.

11. In apparatus for forming packages of a loose, flowing commodity, a substantially vertical hollow feeder mandrel, means to supply a continuous, uniform flow of the commodity to the upper end of said mandrel, means to advance a flexible tube of packaging material downwardly about said mandrel, a gate at the lower end of the mandrel, said gate constituting a portion of the wall of the mandrel and being hinged to swing into engagement with an opposite wall portion of the mandrel at an acute angle thereto to interrupt the flow of material, and an invvardlyprojecting lip on said opposite wall por- "tion of the mandrel, above the lower end thereof.

HAROLD P. LEWIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the flle of this patent:

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